Florida BBQ Association Power Rankings

Week 19

Sweet Smoke Q with a big win in Thomaston takes over sole ownership of first place. Its a long road to catch Sweet Smoke Q now! The Second and Third Place did good too.

How Wachulas – have to be #2 right now coming off a huge GC two weeks after missing a contest. Might be the equalizer again this year.

Big Papa’s Country Kitchen – Big GC three weeks ago. He did great in Thomaston. If he decides to win it all now nothing is gonna stop him. He’ll jump over Hot Wachulas and Sweet Smoke Q like a low hurdle at and Olympic Race.

Git-R-Smoke – coasted a little at the beginning of the year could win this thing.

Swamp Boys – easily #1 but inactivity could drop him further down the list.

Lang BBQ Smokers – Could win it all but can’t figure out what the judges want in the FBA

Everglade Seasoning – Another #1 team potential but chief cook has stuff out side BBQ that is calling him now!

Budmeister- Could win the FBA every year.

Blitzkrieg BBQ – is a challenger to win it all every week.

Team Unknown – is building a BBQ Empire and the FBA is just part of it.

Cedar Creek BBQ – quietly staying in the hunt.

Bull Rush BBQ – Could win every contest but a big time professional outside of BBQ!

This Week

1

Sweet Smoke Q

477

19

30

27

32

7

6

5

12

1

79

77

104

78

2

Hot Wachula’s

414

18

30

27

8

7

10

4

9

74

65

68

94

3

Big Papa’s Country Kitchen

386

17

20

36

18

10

4

2

62

81

75

61

4

Git-R-Smoked

295

16

10

16

28

5

12

3

1

53

41

57

53

5

Blitzkrieg BBQ

269

14

9

16

14

6

5

4

45

39

41

76

6

Swamp Boys

255

11

20

9

21

6

5

4

1

46

74

27

31

7

Lang BBQ Smokers

196

8

10

24

5

2

46

43

34

24

8

Team Unknown

181

10

20

8

5

6

24

37

40

31

9

Cedar Creek BBQ

130

9

14

6

5

3

11

22

19

41

10

Budmeisters

126

6

20

7

6

2

16

18

39

12

Florida Bar-Be-Cue Association

On Saturday, August 12, 2000, a group of barbecue cook teams, certified judges from several existing sanctioning bodies, and curious onlookers gathered at the corporate offices of Smokey Bones in Orlando. Their goal was to establish a new sanctioning body; one that would be first and foremost “cooker friendly.” This group, financed by a sizeable donation by Tom and Donna Dominy, who currently cook as Junkyard Dogs, formed the Florida Bar-B-Que Association. The folks at that first meeting, who became the charter members of the FBA, convinced Joby Stanaland to take on the role of President, a position he held for the next six years as the FBA grew from that small group to over 500 members, cook teams, and judges. Florida BBQ Association The original Rules Committee, at the charter meeting, laid down several key points that still are considered the foundation of the FBA system today. While they adopted the same meat categories as several other sanctioning bodies, the committee decided that garnish would never be in a turn-in box, that every judge’s score would always be counted, and that to give the cook teams less stress, turn-ins would be one hour apart. And while it would take over a year for the first FBA event to take place, the 2001 Funcook over Labor Day Weekend would establish another standard of the FBA that continues year after year. The first sanctioned contest – Manchester, Tennessee on October 6, 2001 – tested the system derived a year earlier and proved to the world of competitive barbecue that it could work. That contest was followed three months later by a combined Memphis in May / FBA event at Sebring, Florida, one that has become our longest running contest.

It took over 10 years, but we knew that eventually, someone would get a perfect score at an FBA sanctioned contest. But no one ever expected it to happen twice at the SAME contest!Here’s Rub Bagby, head cook of Swamp Boys, and Damon Wooley, head cook of Wooley Bully BBQ Mafia the first two teams to achieve a perfect score. Rub’s ribs and Damon’s brisket, both winning at Newnan, Georgia on October 16, 2010.

Over the years there have been any number of incidents that form the exciting history of the Florida Bar-B-Que Association. This one stands out as perhaps one of the best remembered. Many thanks to Maura Brown for providing the ancient, dog-eared copies of the National Barbecue News.